'Bleeding' vegan burger is an 'existential threat' to beef' whines NZ MP

[littlebabyjesus]

Yes, it is very worrying. This shit is spreading rapidly from a base of almost zero here.

Anecdotally, I have noticed the change just by being out and about in the countryside. Compared to some years ago, where are all the cows? Still plenty of sheep but very few cows.

 

[rutabowa]

I dunno if they still make them, but there's a brand of cigarettes called Richmond. Like the sausages they are an exceptionally awful example of the genre, after smoking one of those things the skin on my face feels filthy and I want to shower.

Richmond menthol are alright. Richmond sausages are often the only ones you can get in those "best in" type local mini supermarkets, they have some kind of monopoly

 

[Mrs Miggins]

NZ is a hotbed of vegan desire - study

 

[treefrog]

LOL at the idea of NZ being a hotbed of desire for anything tbh.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Yes, it is very worrying. This shit is spreading rapidly from a base of almost zero here.

Anecdotally, I have noticed the change just by being out and about in the countryside. Compared to some years ago, where are all the cows? Still plenty of sheep but very few cows.

People ate them all.

 

[NoXion]

NZ is a hotbed of vegan desire - study
View attachment 158655

I blame the cremated burgers, myself.

 

[editor]

interesting stuff:

A glowing review of Burger King’s new plant-based Whopper comes from an unlikely source: a senior meat industry lobbyist who admitted the surprisingly realistic taste of modern fake meats is a “wake-up call” to livestock farmers.
In a review of the Impossible Whopper, which is being trialled in 59 restaurants in the St Louis area, Eric Bohl, director of public affairs at the Missouri Farm Bureau, wrote: “If farmers and ranchers think we can mock and dismiss these products as a passing fad, we’re kidding ourselves.

“This is not just another disgusting tofu burger that only a dedicated hippie could convince himself to eat.”

Bohl went to a Burger King to compare a traditional Whopper with the vegetarian alternative made by Impossible Foods, a California company that makes plant-based substitutes. Its burger is designed to “bleed” like a conventional burger and uses genetically modified yeast to produce heme, a protein that mimics the flavor of meat.

Admitting the differences in taste between the two burgers was “pretty minor”, Bohl said the advance of fake meats provides a looming and existential threat to the industry he represents.

“If I didn’t know what I was eating, I would have no idea it was not beef,” he wrote. “Farmers and ranchers need to take notice and get ready to compete. I’ve tasted it with my own mouth, and this fake meat is ready for prime time.”

In a follow-up post, Bohl called the new wave of cowless burgers “a wake-up call”. “This is an intense challenge to our industry and we must continue to fight,” he added.

And I didn't know this:

Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, both backed by the Microsoft founder Bill Gates, are at the forefront of a push into meaty territory which aims to mimic the appearance and taste of flesh rather than making the sort of health-based vegetarian fare typically scorned by committed carnivores.

In its mission statement, Impossible Foods says: “We’re making meat using plants, so that we never have to use animals again,” citing the environmental toll of meat production, via excessive land and water use, as well as greenhouse gas emissions.

Burger King’s plant-based Whopper gets glowing review – from a meat lobbyist

 

[editor]

And...

Burger King is trialling a meat-free version of its famous Whopper, rolling out the new “Impossible Whopper” at 59 restaurants in St Louis.

The meatless burger, developed with Impossible Foods, a California-based company that makes plant-based substitutes, is designed to “bleed” like a conventional burger, and uses genetically modified yeast to produce heme, a protein that mimics the flavor of meat.

Burger King insists the new plant-based alternative tastes as good as the real thing. Christopher Finazzo, the chain’s North America president, said: “We’ve done sort of a blind taste test with our franchisees, with people in the office, with my partners on the executive team, and virtually nobody can tell the difference.”

Burger King launches plant-based Whopper: 'Nobody can tell the difference'

But the burger has not been immune from criticism.

Genetically modified yeast, a lack of organic ingredients, processed soy, and a high saturated fat and salt content have concerned some critics. And the burger has been criticized by animal rights activists for testing products on rats. Cattle ranchers have also mounted opposition to Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat for selling patties in grocery stores in the same refrigerators as meat.

 

[8ball]

I'm willing to do a blind taste test on this one.

 

[NoXion]

And...


Burger King launches plant-based Whopper: 'Nobody can tell the difference'

If they're still doing them by the time my new job pays me, I'll be tempted to check it out.

But of course it's not good enough for the cultists. Nothing would satisfy them short of the wholesale conversion of the entire world to their dogma.

What's actually wrong with the genetically modified yeast?

 

[editor]

I'm willing to do a blind taste test on this one.

I tried an Ultimate burger in the States and the sceptical meat eaters I was with said they doubted if they could tell the difference.

Either way, if it's so close that it's really hard to tell the difference, then that's another great thing to help carnivores reduce their intake of red meat, no?

 

[TopCat]

Either way, if it's so close that it's really hard to tell the difference, then that's another great thing to help carnivores reduce their intake of red meat, no?

If they so choose.

 

[editor]

If they so choose.

No one is suggesting that they should be compulsory, you daft h'appeth.

 

[nyxx]

The “impossible burger” was tested on animals, 180 rats were killed in the development of it. I won’t be trying it.

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

The “impossible burger” was tested on animals, 180 rats were killed in the development of it. I won’t be trying it.

I know. Why have one fake cow burger when you can have 180 real rat burgers. Actually more like 45 as there isn't much meat on a rat.

 

[Mrs Miggins]

I'll definitely try one if they make it over here. It's just a good thing generally to have alternatives and non-meat options are really becoming mainstream now.

 

[editor]

The “impossible burger” was tested on animals, 180 rats were killed in the development of it. I won’t be trying it.

Here's their follow up grovel: Box

And commentary:
The Impossible Burger Debate Was a Test for Vegans, and We Failed | LIVEKINDLY

 

[gentlegreen]

ewwww

 

[editor]

I kinda get their argument: a handful of rats die in possible agony to potentially save ten squadzillion animals being slaughtered every year but it's still a tawdry tale.

 

[8ball]

I kinda get their argument: a handful of rats die in possible agony to potentially save ten squadzillion animals being slaughtered every year but it's still a tawdry tale.

What happened to the rats again?

 

[joustmaster]

What happened to the rats again?

they went Elvis on the burgers and died on tiny rat toilets

 

[sleaterkinney]

I've tried a vegan burger and steak, the burger could pass for a McDonald's, but not the real thing, the steak was nowhere near.

 

[8ball]

they went Elvis on the burgers and died on tiny rat toilets

I thought they found the rats were fine, but some had to be dissected to check their organs were ok.
Which they were, up to the dissection.

 

[8ball]

I've tried a vegan burger and steak, the burger could pass for a McDonald's, but not the real thing...

I really like those "No Bull" ones from Iceland, though there is some diversity of opinion on how close they are to a beef one. Certainly close enough for me.

 

[joustmaster]

I thought they found the rats were fine, but some had to be dissected to check their organs were ok.
Which they were, up to the dissection.

But what's that go to do with elvis.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Tasting like a BK Whopper isn't setting the bar terribly high tbf.

One thing I'm sure many veggies/vegans won't be able to relate to is that I enjoy the connection between the piece of meat I am eating and the animal it has come from. Its qualities have been shaped by the animal's life. Its structure reflects its function within the living thing. There is a beauty to that, which adds to the enjoyment of eating it - and more particularly of preparing and cooking it.

 

[Fez909]

There is a beauty to that, and an enjoyment to eating it.

I'm a meat eater, but this is just fucking weird, IMO.

 

[8ball]

But what's that go to do with elvis.

The Vegans said "Don't Be Cruel" but the scientists had Suspicious Minds and dispatched the mice with a Jailhouse Rock.
The Vegans, unsurprisingly were All Shook Up.

 

[joustmaster]

The Vegans said "Don't Be Cruel" but the scientists had Suspicious Minds and dispatched the mice with a Jailhouse Rock.
The Vegans, unsurprisingly were All Shook Up.

That'll do

 

[littlebabyjesus]

I'm a meat eater, but this is just fucking weird, IMO.

Knowledge of the function and history of the body part being prepared informs the way you prepare it. I want to know what part of the animal I'm eating, and to understand the connection between that and its taste and texture.

Back in the 1800s, it was normal at a formal dinner for the claws of the bird, or whatever, to be placed on the plate to show what it was you were eating, celebrating that connection between the food and the life it has come from. I like that idea - at the very least, it is an honest approach.